Writing:
Getting Started and Getting Unstuck
You may want to try these if you are
having trouble beginning a writing assignment.
The basics:
Do
any necessary reading for the assignment. Do
whatever is necessary to understand the assignment. Psych
yourself up rather than psyching
yourself out. Make sure that positive
and realistic thoughts about the assignment are in your mind.
Prewriting:
I
had a wonderful writing professor who taught me the joys of the playdraft. A playdraft is a great deal
less formal than a first draft, and can be purposely written so that it can not
be handed in in its original form. (Crumpling the paper, writing in crayon,
complaining about the assignment or the reading, deliberately using
informalities and ungrammatical sentences, etc., are all useful strategies.)
Getting ideas out on paper frees up parts of the brain that allow new ideas to
be formed, helps us over the speed bumps of reluctance and uncertainty, and
helps us to become aware of the fact that we know more than we may be conscious
of. Jot
down a list of topics you might possibly address in your writing. Knowing that I
have choices makes a huge difference for me, because it helps me focus on
choosing the one I want to write about and helps me feel more confident about
what I choose. I would wager that I am not alone. Brainstorm
a list of questions that your
writing could answer, even if you don’t know the answers as you write the list.
Create
a spreadsheet of the ideas you are
considering. Brainstorm your ideas aloud (to yourself, a friend, a family
member, or your neighbor’s goldfish). Some people process ideas better aloud,
when they hear them, and/or with an added social component. Try saying it aloud
while pacing or walking. Create
a map, web, or cluster (different names for the same thing) that shows a variety
of subtopics and their relationships. Use
a pen and paper or a computer to create an outline
of whatever formality level will serve your needs. Some computer programs will convert
a web-map-cluster to a formal outline. Cut a list of topics into pieces and
move the pieces around until the organization makes sense to you. Start
with a condensed version of your
ideas. Write them as a haiku. Write them in exactly 25 words. Write them as a
mathematical equation. Write them as a bumper sticker. Boil down your ideas to
their essence.
Just as you may not want to pair
off with the first person that you (or your friends or family members) think is
perfect for you, you may not want to marry first ideas. A first idea may exist
as part of the process that gets us to the second or third or fifty-seventh
idea.
